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Firearms manufacturers and large distributors in the United States

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Some distributors are even large enough to commission special versions of guns just for their customers.

There are a great many firearms manufacturers and large distributors in the United States.

We are going to take a look at some of the largest firearms manufacturers and distributors in the US, and see just what makes them so important. Because we all know (or should know!) about the biggest companies like Ruger, Smith and Wesson, Colt, and other famous companies, we’re going to look at some of the lesser known but still very important manufacturers and then look at several firearms dealers of importance.

Henry Repeating Arms builds rifles, shotguns and pistols that appeal to a romantic view of American culture and firearms ownership. Famous for their varied line of classically styled lever action rifles and single shot rifles and shotguns, Henry resurrected the name of a mid 19th Century gun company, and applied it to their full line of products. Their .22 lever action rifles are among the most popular of their kind on the market, and they offer affordable and highly finished centerfire lever action rifles that compete well with other lever action rifles on the market. Their Henry US Survival Rifle is an improved version of the well known AR-7 takedown pilot’s .22 survival rifle and is optimized for sporting and survival uses. 

Henry also makes a “mare’s leg” pistol, which is a lever action pistol which mimics similar movie weapons of the 1940’s and 50’s. Henry has been actively expanding their offerings to include a number of single shot rifles and shotguns, as well as a lever action .41 shotguns. They also manufacture a line of historically correct reproductions of Civil War era Henry rifles and carbines which serve the movie prop, reenactor and collector markets. Henry boasts all of their guns are fully made in the United States, and their president Anthony Imperato boasts of a personal guarantee for quality and satisfaction that appears to be very well received by the US market for Henry products. 

Palmetto State Armory or PSA is both a high volume manufacturer and dealer in South Carolina. PSA sells parts and finished rifles for the AR-15 AR-10, AK-47, 1911A1 pistol, and several other firearms. They have developed a propritary AR-15 style rifle which takes AK-47 magazines, and sells an AK-47 rifle made with US and imported components, most notably cast receiver parts from Korea. Their various AR style rifles are known for a low price and high quality, ranging from mil-spec utilitarian to highly refined match grade. They offer a line of rifles in pistol calibers adapted for common Glock magazines, and also deal in handguns from major manufacturers. In addition they sell ammunition in small and bulk quantities, and magazines for many of the guns they sell.

PSA is famous for affordable build kits for AR style rifles that include everything but the regulated and serialized lower receiver, which can be bought locally or milled at home in most US states. They also offer a wide array of other AR style gun parts, allowing consumers to build, rebuild and upgrade their rifles, regardless of original manufacturer. 

Another important US gun manufacturer really doesn’t actually make guns per se. Taking advantage of Federal laws that allow consumers to build a legal to own firearm themselves, 80% Arms sells a variety of AR-15, AR-10 and Glock style frames and receivers that are legally not considered firearms. These incomplete receivers and frames are only 80 percent completed, which is the most an unfinished frame or receiver can be manufactured to and still not be legally considered a firearm. These parts are then finished at home by use of common drilling or milling tools and special jigs. It is possible to complete an 80 percent frame in just a couple hours, and then complete it with a parts kit.

80% Arms also sells a variety of upper receivers, slides and complete parts kits to help complete their products and finish building them into functioning firearms. It is possible to build an entirely legal gun without serial number using their parts, so long as the gun is not intended for resale. 

Outside of homemade guns and private person to person sales under compliance with state and federal laws, all guns sold in the US must go through a dealer, and all new production guns must be first sold through a licensed dealer. Some small gun companies sell directly to dealers, but most companies instead prefer to work through large wholesale distributors. These distributors in turn sell to local dealers, and sometimes to individuals and ship their purchase to the dealer of their choice to complete the required background checks for purchases. Some distributors have special deals with manufacturers to carry a certain product or have an exclusive gun sold for them. In some cases this leads to the limited production of unique and collectible guns that quickly sell out. For this reason, it is always wise for a dealer to have a good relationship with several distributors.

Baton Rouge Louisiana based Lipsey's advertises itself as “the nations leading wholesale firearms distributor” and offers nearly 9000 unique products as of this writing, including nearly 350 different exclusive items. As a major firearms distributor, they serve the needs of US firearms dealers across the nation, and their close working relationship with major gun manufacturers allows them to sell a number of exclusive firearms. Typically these are common guns in uncommon calibers, or custom colored frames or grips not available direct from the manufacturer. Some guns even come with unique gold accents!

Because of their enormous buying power, Lipsey’s offers an excellent profit margin for dealers buying from them, and are more likely to have popular guns in stock when compared to smaller distributors. 

Davidson's Gallery of Guns or just Davidson’s is another massive distributor of guns in the US, and also offers a unique model that allows them to sell more guns than most distributors. Davidson’s provides special software that allows dealers to integrate their website with Gallery of Guns, and permits consumers to order direct to their favorite dealer without the dealer having to maintain inventory. This frees up capital for dealers, allows greater consumer choice, and drives sales with minimal effort, while allowing a dealer theoretically near limitless choices for their customers. Davidson’s also allows people to purchase guns directly from them to have shipped to their dealer, so even if a dealer doesn’t work directly with Davidson’s, it should still be possible to get one of their guns shipped to a dealer. This innovative approach benefits both dealers and Davidson’s alike by making their inventory and buying power available to everyone. Of course in some cases this forces a dealer to transfer or sell a gun at a minimal markup, but on the other hand, not having to invest in inventory can be a real benefit.

There are a great many more manufacturers and dealers in the United States- more than can be adequately covered in a single article. We looked at well known distributors, and less known, but still important manufacturers in the hopes of expanding your understanding of this complex, ever changing and very important market for small arms and ammunition..

 

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